Minnesota: Giddy with Grouse
Up here in New England, we’re jealous of our MN grouse hunting bretheran. Their season started September 15. Makes a birdy New Englander want to drive a few hundred miles, buy an out-of-state license and take a crack at old ruff. This idea may not be so far fetched since the grouse population is up about 30 percent from last year and is expected to climb. The grouse cycle is on the rise so get out there. An off putting matter is that there is less land to hunt on, says the Star Tribune. Land that was previously open to the public,...
...some 1 million acres to be precise, has been sold or leased. The largest private landowner in the state is Potlatch Corp. which controls about 312,000 acres. They have leased 155,000 acres some of it to 1,240 individuals or groups interested in hunting the land. The trend is companies like Potlatch are finding the demand for leased land is another source of income. You’ll see the posted signs come this season if you hunt the North Woods. On one hand leased land provides great hunting opportunity for those who can afford it on the other hand it takes away from free-access land the public once had. MN is trying to purchase the rights to these lands to again open them up to the public. You never know what you had until you loose it.
